February 26th, 2008
An excerpt from this article at Diversity Inc.
Affirmative Action on the Line in 5 States: Ward Connerly’s ‘Super Tuesday’
by Jennifer Millman. Date Posted: February 26, 2008While the presidential election tops everyone’s minds for the November ballot, five states also have to make decisions on affirmative action. If longtime affirmative-action foe Ward Connerly has his way, voters will ban it in public employment, contracting and education, just as they’ve done in California, Washington state, and most recently, Michigan. In that state, civil-rights groups are still trying to fight in court to get the new amendment struck from the state’s constitution.
The End of Affirmative Action? Who Can Stop Ward Connerly?
Why do we need affirmative action? We still don’t have a level playing field. Read this timely and provocative affirmative-action roundtable in the April 2007 issue of DiversityInc magazine, featuring participants in both camps, including affirmative-action foe Ward Connerly, University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman, DiversityInc Partner and Cofounder Luke Visconti, former NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Director Counsel Ted Shaw and others.
As you’ll see, Connerly is of the mindset of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who voted last summer to strike down voluntary school-integration programs in two states, and comedian Bill Cosby. All of these Black men advocate a "colorblind society."But we’re not there yet. Affirmative action is a tool to achieve equality–a means to an end, not an end in and of itself, according to Visconti and other affirmative-action proponents. Studies consistently indicate that diversity enhances learning environments (educational, workplace and other settings), without which our country may suffer from loss of innovation. Still, rampant inequality exists in all levels of society, and those who are born into lower classes or who suffer stereotypes and ridicule from birth because of their race/ethnicity or gender have limited scope of opportunity.
5 States Weigh Affirmative Action
Here’s what you need to know about the battles in each state. Depending on population, anti-affirmative-action representatives need to get about 90,000 to 230,000 signatories on petitions in each state by May 3 to get the proposals on the ballots. We’ll give you weekly updates on the campaigns and tell you how you can help. Here’s a list of civil-rights organizations in every state that you can contact to get your voice heard. We give direct links to the organizations in five states currently fighting affirmative-action battles below.
3. Nebraska: Student groups at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln are banding together to fight Connerly’s agenda in their state and others. Their group, which represents students of all races/ethnicities, genders and orientations, is called "Students United for Nebraska," and members stood outside Monday to protest Connerly’s proposal. The University of Nebraska Board of Regents also unanimously oppose the proposal because of the devastating impact it would have on universities’ efforts to diversify campuses and on scholarships for students of color, women’s commissions and recruitment efforts targeted to traditionally disadvantaged populations.
"I worry as much about the symbolism as the petition itself," University of Nebraska-Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman told the JournalStar.com. "It sends a message that Nebraskans don’t care about diversity."
Contact the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission to get involved.
The real place to go to get involved and support this effort with your time or your treasure would be here:
For more information, contact:
Jo Giles
Public Affairs Communications Specialist
Phone: (402) 559-4696
Email: jgiles@unmc.edu
Myrna Newland, M.D.
Director of UNMC Equity Office
Phone: (402) 559-4081
Email: mnewland@unmc.edu
Mary McNamee, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Phone: (402) 559-3928
Email: mmcnamee@unmc.edu